Blessed Beyond Measure: Baby Life: Asher's 1st Birthday

On June 30, our baby boy turned 1! It was the fastest year of my life...no contest. It was also the most amazing year of my life full of incredible moments, snuggles, naps, tears, laughter, smelly diapers, loads upon loads of laundry, kisses, tickles, food-splattered floors, car seat struggles... Everything was new to us and yet everything felt exactly the way it should be. It wasn't an easy year by any means, but the exhaustion and efforts were easily worth every minute. I have had many people tell me to enjoy every moment, and probably an equal amount of people tell me that that phrase is a load. I can't say I have truly "enjoyed" every moment, but I can say that I have and do cherish every moment. The tough moments are hard while your in them, but they make you stronger. The lovable moments remind you why you persevere through the tough ones to begin with. The fun moments make it all pass more quickly than you want, but bring smiles to your face and often a lump to your throat when you later ponder them. I wouldn't change a thing about the past year. When I was weak, God helped me through; either with a husband that was willing to take the baton, a second burst of energy when I thought I was all out, or a baby that finally decided to help a momma out. I cannot believe the year is over and I won't lie: I didn't make it through this day without shedding a few tears. At this point, I think baby life is officially over (at least until [if] God decides to bless us with another), but I do look forward to the year ahead and Toddler Tales is a whole other journey I am ready to embark on! :)

For Asher's first birthday, we stayed pretty low-key. After his Little Blue Truck party (see previous post), we were utterly EXHAUSTED! We woke up that morning and spent a few hours with Eric's parents and grandmother before they headed back to Michigan. Then we headed to church. I'll admit that we both had an extremely difficult time keeping our eyes open during church and headed home as soon as it was finished. We had planned to go to Lambs Farm (a local-ish petting farm) with Asher in the afternoon, but we didn't have the energy. Instead, we enjoyed a quick lunch of party left-overs and then we all took a two hour nap. Once we had replenished a bit of our energy, we spent the remainder of the afternoon playing with the birthday boy and all of his new toys. We also had a few other little birthday presents to give him and then took him out for a birthday dinner at Culver's (which really just meant that he ate his normal food at Culver's while Mommy & Daddy got to enjoy burgers and fries...we did let him try out custard for the first time though). That was the day. It wasn't anything too major, but it was a great family day and although it doesn't seem that it was an overly memorable day, I will always carry those moments in my heart. Enjoy the pics (again, there are lots...but if you're reading this, you're probably used to that by now!).

Eric, Asher & I with Eric's parents and Grandmother (lovingly nicknamed GG Smiley)

An action shot (Grandpa was throwing Asher up in the air)

Giving Grandma a tour of the back yard.

Asher taking his new truck for a spin.

Video: Walking the Truck

Asher was a very tired little boy and also pretty excited about his new toys. He could not make up his mind between pushing his truck or pushing the lawnmower. He would push one and then start to whine while he went to the other. He went back and forth like this for a bit, so we gave him the option to push them both.

I love this face!...

...and this one!

playing with his new toy from Papa K.

Opening his other little gifts from Eric & I

Video: Caution Boy at Play (I think Dad could have just covered the entire board with door stops and called it a day)

Enjoying some caramel corn with Mommy

Of course, we also had to do our 12 month photo shoot. A certain (very tired) little boy wasn't really in the mood, so we didn't get any great pictures, but I guess we still captured the moment: being 1 year old is exhausting!

A brush makes everything better, right?

brushing his teeth.

Eric put the busy board up on the wall in the new playroom for Asher to test it out...it was/is a success!

Since Asher is getting really good at walking, he is also working on his climbing skills (the day before he climbed a small step ladder)...tonight he decided to play King Kong on his parking garage

When all of Asher's toys had been played with and the photo shoot was over, we took the kids for a quick walk around the park.